There was a surprise inclusion for the Cobblers as youngster Danny May, who signed professional terms with the club on Friday, started his first game in place of injured Jason Crowe. Chris Doig shook off his injury though and started while Bradley Johnson returned after suspension kept him out of last weekend’s defeat at Blackpool.
May was involved with his first touch, a good cross just missing the head of Kenny Deuchar before Mark Hughes went close with his own flick which was saved by visiting goalkeeper Barry Roche.
Chesterfield almost scored with their first real attack of the game on 12 minutes. Colin Larkin latched onto a through ball and a mistake by Mark Hughes let the former Mansfield man in but his shot was saved by Mark Bunn. Bunn reacted quickly and got up in time to stop the rebound- a header from Paul Shaw.
The Speirites were getting more and more into the game and Larkin had a shot blocked well by Hughes.
The Cobblers hit back and a Bradley Johnson right-footed shot was followed by a run and shot by Chris Doig. Ian Taylor then replaced Andy Holt after the left back added to our injury worries in defence.
On 36 minutes, Simon Cox caused problems in the Chesterfield defence and almost caused Reuban Hazell to score an own goal. The last chance of the half fell to Ian Taylor following a scramble in the visitors’ area but he hooked his shot wide.
So after a poor first half, the teams went in level at the break with neither side looking like breaking the deadlock.
The first chance of the first half fell to Chesterfield with Jamie Ward shooting wide before the Cobblers had the chance to take the lead. Simon Cox received the ball from Kenny Deuchar but held onto the ball for too long. Ryan Gilligan picked up the Reading loan-man’s pass but shot straight at the keeper.
Danny May’s debut came to an abrupt end on 55 minutes as he went off injured to be replaced by striker Jordan Robertson. Five minutes later, Jamie Ward again could have put Chesterfield in front after finding space but Mark Bunn pulled off a good save.
Andy Kirk replaced Kenny Deuchar who had a frustrating afternoon as neither side looked to have the firepower to go on and win the game. That was until 15 minutes from time as Simon Cox acted on quick thinking to score his third goal for the club. Referee Dermot Gallagher gave us a free kick but the Chesterfield players thought it was in their favour, making them stop in their tracks. Bradley Johnson put the ball down, took advantage of their slackness and played in Cox, who finished well to finally break the deadlock of a poor game.
That turned out to be the only goal of the game and though Chesterfield hit a post with ten minutes to go, they couldn’t find the equaliser and the Cobblers picked up three more points to confirm League One safety.
With all the injuries before and during the game, Stuart Gray will be delighted to get the points in the bag after a scrappy game and a couple of formation changes that won’t have helped. We can now look towards the final two games of the season with anticipation of even sneaking into the top half, which we are now just one point away from!
May was involved with his first touch, a good cross just missing the head of Kenny Deuchar before Mark Hughes went close with his own flick which was saved by visiting goalkeeper Barry Roche.
Chesterfield almost scored with their first real attack of the game on 12 minutes. Colin Larkin latched onto a through ball and a mistake by Mark Hughes let the former Mansfield man in but his shot was saved by Mark Bunn. Bunn reacted quickly and got up in time to stop the rebound- a header from Paul Shaw.
The Speirites were getting more and more into the game and Larkin had a shot blocked well by Hughes.
The Cobblers hit back and a Bradley Johnson right-footed shot was followed by a run and shot by Chris Doig. Ian Taylor then replaced Andy Holt after the left back added to our injury worries in defence.
On 36 minutes, Simon Cox caused problems in the Chesterfield defence and almost caused Reuban Hazell to score an own goal. The last chance of the half fell to Ian Taylor following a scramble in the visitors’ area but he hooked his shot wide.
So after a poor first half, the teams went in level at the break with neither side looking like breaking the deadlock.
The first chance of the first half fell to Chesterfield with Jamie Ward shooting wide before the Cobblers had the chance to take the lead. Simon Cox received the ball from Kenny Deuchar but held onto the ball for too long. Ryan Gilligan picked up the Reading loan-man’s pass but shot straight at the keeper.
Danny May’s debut came to an abrupt end on 55 minutes as he went off injured to be replaced by striker Jordan Robertson. Five minutes later, Jamie Ward again could have put Chesterfield in front after finding space but Mark Bunn pulled off a good save.
Andy Kirk replaced Kenny Deuchar who had a frustrating afternoon as neither side looked to have the firepower to go on and win the game. That was until 15 minutes from time as Simon Cox acted on quick thinking to score his third goal for the club. Referee Dermot Gallagher gave us a free kick but the Chesterfield players thought it was in their favour, making them stop in their tracks. Bradley Johnson put the ball down, took advantage of their slackness and played in Cox, who finished well to finally break the deadlock of a poor game.
That turned out to be the only goal of the game and though Chesterfield hit a post with ten minutes to go, they couldn’t find the equaliser and the Cobblers picked up three more points to confirm League One safety.
With all the injuries before and during the game, Stuart Gray will be delighted to get the points in the bag after a scrappy game and a couple of formation changes that won’t have helped. We can now look towards the final two games of the season with anticipation of even sneaking into the top half, which we are now just one point away from!
1 comment:
That was fast work!
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